Hector’s dolphin is endemic to our coastal waters of New Zealand. The two subspecies of the Hector’s dolphin are critically endangered, this species is at a great risk of becoming extinct and the New Zealand government, is currently not doing enough to stop this from happening.

I propose that all or majority of commercial, recreational fishing and any tourism boat tours off the coasts of New Zealand where the South Island subspecies of Hector’s Dolphin and North Island subspecies the Maui’s dolphin are known to be located, is banned and subsidised by the New Zealand Government, until the Maui dolphin is in a comfortable population position.

Although the idea of the government banning and subsiding boats and commercial fishing from these areas may seem drastic, Hector’s dolphin is at a critical point where drastic measures need to be taken. Boats and nets pose one of the largest threats to this critically endangered species and personally I believe that if the government is willing to spend $26 million on the two referendums on the New Zealand flag in 2015 and 2016, then they should be willing to spend money on something as important as saving a species. 

In 2007 the Ministry of Fisheries and Department of Conservation released the draft Hector’s and Maui’s dolphin Threat Management Plan which led to the introduction of restrictions on set net fishing, trawling and drift net fishing. Although this was indeed a step in the right direction it is unfortunately not enough save and protect this species and to my knowledge there has been no further steps towards the protection of Hector’s dolphin since this change being put into place late 2008. Late 2015 the government once again failed the species by issuing a permit of oil exploration in the Maui’s dolphin habitat. I believe it is time for the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) previously Ministry of Fisheries and Department of Conversation to reconvene, and I would like them to keep my proposal in mind.

Hector’s dolphins are known to live to a maximum of around 20 years, with only 55 Maui’s dolphin currently alive, and the threats that they are currently exposed to, as well as each female only reproducing four to five calves in a lifetime, that doesn’t leave long before these dolphin’s will be acknowledged as past tense. We need to ensure we are not posing a threat to lives of these species, that we are not disturbing their reproduction process as the increase of population for this species is already very slow and we need to be doing everything realistically possible to prevent this species from dying out. I don’t want to be associated with a generation that allowed New Zealand’s only endemic dolphin, to become extinct.

Do you agree and wish to also make a stand towards pushing for this unique species of dolphin to be saved? Sign this petition. 

Read my full short personal essay at: http://savehectorsdolphinnz.tumblr.com/